Contemporary And New Technical Issues Of International Criminal Law Defenses

10.1163/ej.9781571051585.i-334.66

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Chapter Summary

This chapter focuses on the procedural context of defenses to international criminal litigation from the perspective of the accused as a subject of international law. Furthermore, since interdisciplinary processes master contemporary international criminal law (ICL), it also looks into current developments on new technical issues, including the application of genetic defenses by those entrusted with international criminal litigation and law-finding. The principle of fairness in international criminal litigation constitutes an erga omnes obligation in ICL. The first effective manifestation of the principle of procedural fairness in regard to defenses consists of the inclusion of admissibility of defenses and the subsequent crystalization of the burden of proof criteria. Traditionally the role of expert witnesses with clinical expertise in both common law and civil law criminal proceedings in regard to defenses is limited to the domain of the insanity plea.